Don’t Miss Out

You’re all set!

Look out for our weekly updates soon.

Connect with us

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Sign up now for the latest news, top picks for your kids, and helpful tips.

What parents need to know

Positive messages

Characters work together to stand up to a bully, to fight a giant skeleton, and to solve the mystery of various goings-on in their town, living up to one mother's maxim: "Friendship is the strongest bond."

Positive role models

Billy Owens looks out for his friends as they undertake their many adventures -- both in school and in more fantastic realms.

Violence & scariness

Some scary skeletons and a troll that might be frightening for younger viewers, though the computer animation is so poorly done that it's clearly pretend. Some instances of a bully pushing and shoving Billy and his friends. In one scene Billy is urged to "kill" a mystical creature who is threatening him and his friends.

Sexy stuff

Not applicable

Language

No profanity, but a bully character often calls Billy and his friends names like "loser," "geek," and "punk."

Consumerism

Not applicable

Drinking, drugs, & smoking

Not applicable

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that this tedious and confusing attempt at making a Harry Potter-type film features some bullying and mild insults. There are also some interactions between kids and a troll and a giant sword-wielding skeleton that might be scary to younger viewers, though the animation quality makes suspending disbelief difficult.

User reviews

Parents say

Kids say

What's the story?

On his birthday, on the eleventh month of the eleventh day, Billy Owens (Dalton Mugridge) discovers he has magical powers not unlike a wizard after he and his two friends -- the funfact-spouting Mandy (Ciara O'Hanlon) and the allergy-suffering Devon (Christopher Fazio) -- run away from the clutches of the school bully and find themselves in a second-hand shop owned by a man named Thurgood (Roddy Piper). Billy is given a magic wand, and he must use it not only to stand-up to the school bully, but to rescue his town from mysterious vines, a dragon, a skeleton, and his evil wizard schoolteacher.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

It says a lot when former professional wrestler "Rowdy" Roddy Piper is the best actor in a movie, and that's exactly the case in THE MYSTICAL ADVENTURES OF BILLY OWENS. While the three kids themselves aren't necessarily unlikable, the film has such a slap-dash quality to it -- with unintentionally hilariously bad computer animation -- it is nearly impossible to care one way or the other what happens to Billy as he tries to save his town by using his recently discovered wizard capabilities.

Furthermore, the storyline is incredibly confusing. Best of luck trying to help your child understand what's happening, between the mysterious vines, the hunter's moon, the codex, the spirit river, the troll, the dragon, the skeleton, and something about an altar of destiny. To say nothing of who does and does not have magical powers. At the end of the day, this is a poorly filmed, poorly executed attempt to get on board the Harry Potter train.

Families can talk about...

Families can talk about the phrase oft-repeated in the film: "Friendship is the strongest bond." What does that mean? What are some examples in your own life of friends being there when you need them?

Why is Kurt's bullying behavior wrong, and besides magic wands, how else might Billy and his friends stand up to him?

What are the qualities that make films and TV shows "good" and "bad?" What is the difference between good and bad acting, special effects, and storytelling?

About our buy links

When you use our links to make a purchase, Common Sense Media earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes. As a nonprofit organization, these funds help us continue providing independent, ad-free services for educators, families, and kids while the price you pay remains the same. Thank you for your support.Read more

What parents and kids say

Billy Owens is't good

I have no review. It's that bad. Not a lot of violence,no sex,some scary incidents,and no language. The child acting is't great but the adults are terrible. But night guard at the library is a little funny. A terrible copy of Harry Potter!

Movie recommendations for your kids right to your inbox

Each week we send a customized newsletter to our parent and teen subscribers. Parents can customize their settings to receive recommendations and parent tips based on their kids’ ages. Teens receive a version just for them with the latest reviews and top picks for movies, video games, apps, music, books, and more.

Our Policies

Download our free app

Common Sense is the nation’s leading independent non-profit organization dedicated to empowering kids to thrive in a world of media and technology. Families, educators, and policymakers turn to
Common Sense for unbiased information and trusted advice to help them learn how to harness the positive power of media and technology for all kids.

The Common Sense and Common Sense Media names, associated trademarks, and logos, including the Decider Slider and Age Ratings Bugs,
are trademarks of Common Sense Media, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization (FEIN 41-2024986).